On Friday, the class gave a brief presentation to Portland's parks commissioner, outlining why they see a compelling case to ban smoking across the Rose City's parks.

They cited studies pointing to the health issues associated with second-hand smoke, talked about the societal impacts on young people witnessing smoking at an early age and noted the other major U.S. cities that have already taken action to ban smoking in parks.

Southwest Charter School students will have a chance at landing a national prize as well. Judges will evaluate the project during the national Project Citizen competition in Los Angeles next month.

Fritz applauded the class for their diligent research, and asked them questions about how Oregon enacted a smoking ban in state parks and whether more recent studies point to the health effects of second-hand smoke.